Here’s How to Turn $25,000 Into TFSA Cash Flow

Granite REIT’s steady warehouse rents and recent distribution hike could make a $25,000 TFSA feel like a monthly paycheque.

Amy Legate-Wolfe

Author Bio Amy became interested in investing in 2018 after having her first daughter. After receiving a masters degree in journalism from Western University, she became frustrated that the finance industry remained a confusing place for Canadians like her: new parents, millennials, and other young people who needed to understand their finances. Now, Amy focuses on tech companies and renewable energy for growth opportunities, coupling that with long-term investing strategies and equities. She also provides investors with a daily newsletter, Canada Stock Digest, for daily market updates. Her work can also be found at Canada's National Observer, where she writes on the business side of climate action. Before joining Motley Fool Canada, Amy wrote for major news organizations including HuffPost, CTVNews.ca, and CBC. When she’s not researching investing strategies, Amy’s time is pretty much monopolized by her two wild daughters, but in what little spare time she has she loves to do yoga, go on walks with her dog, and travel with her husband. Social Media Follow Amy on LinkedIn and Canada Stock Digest. Favorite Investment Quote “October: This is one of the particularly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February.” – Mark Twain

Published February 18, 4:30 pm EST

| More on: GRT.UN

Key Points

Granite owns diversified industrial and logistics properties, and it raised its annual distribution to $3.55.
FFO and same-property NOI rose, and management lifted guidance, supporting the dividend’s reliability.
The yield is lower than many REITs, and units can still swing when interest rates change.

A $25,000 Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) can feel modest, but a reliable monthly dividend stock can turn it into a cash-flow habit that compounds fast. You get income 12 times a year, which gives you more chances to reinvest when prices dip, and it keeps you focused when headlines get loud. In a TFSA, that monthly cash flow stays sheltered, so every reinvested dollar works harder. The key is picking a business that can keep paying through a full cycle, not just a sunny quarter.

Blocks conceptualizing Canada's Tax Free Savings Account — Source: Getty Images

GRT

Granite REIT (TSX: GRT.UN) is an industrial and logistics landlord with a big footprint across North America and Europe. It owns modern warehouses and distribution buildings that tenants use to move goods quickly, which makes it a quiet beneficiary of long-run trends like e-commerce and supply-chain reshoring. Granite also runs a diversified portfolio, with about 147 properties and roughly 62.6 million square feet, so it does not rely on one building to pay the bills.

Over the last year, Granite stayed busy. It renewed its normal course issuer bid in 2025, which signalled confidence in its unit value and balance sheet discipline. It also took a big swing on portfolio shaping, announcing about $292 million in acquisitions and $190 million in dispositions, plus a leasing update that pointed to steady demand for well-located space.

The dividend stock also made a structural move that matters for Canadian TFSA investors who want simple exposure. In late 2025, it announced plans to voluntarily delist from the NYSE and deregister from U.S. SEC reporting, which reduces U.S.-listing complexity while it keeps its TSX home base. It also raised its targeted annual distribution by 4.4% beginning in December 2025, taking the annualized amount to $3.55 per unit.

Earnings support

The latest earnings snapshot comes from Granite’s third quarter of 2025. Management reported funds from operations (FFO) of $89.9 million, or $1.48 per unit, up from $1.35 per unit a year earlier. It also reported adjusted funds from operations of $77 million, or $1.26 per unit, up from $1.22 per unit. Those gains came alongside constant-currency same-property net operating income (NOI) growth of 5.2%, which shows real rent power.

That quarter also came with a confidence marker that income investors should not ignore. Granite raised full-year 2025 guidance, with FFO per unit expected at $5.83 to $5.90 and adjusted FFO per unit expected at $5.03 to $5.10. It also pointed to an active development pipeline, including a 391,000 square foot build-to-suit project in Houston that it expects to complete in Q4 2026 with a 7.5% stabilized yield.

The dividend stock ended Q3 with in-place occupancy of 96.8% and net leverage around 35%, which gives it room to fund projects without stretching. Management also tagged six income-producing properties as held for sale with a fair value of $370.7 million, which can recycle capital into higher-return builds and acquisitions if pricing stays firm. All while offering a stellar 3.9% yield, which can bring in immense income from a $25,000 investment.

COMPANY	RECENT PRICE	NUMBER OF SHARES	ANNUAL DIVIDEND	ANNUAL TOTAL PAYOUT	FREQUENCY	TOTAL INVESTMENT
GRT.UN	$89.36	279	$3.42	$954.18	Monthly	$24,931.44

Bottom line

For a lot of Canadians, Granite can fit nicely as a $25,000 TFSA cash-flow play, but it will not suit everyone. If you want steady monthly income from industrial real estate, and you can handle unit-price wobble when rates move, it can make sense. If you need a higher yield today, or you lose sleep when real estate sentiment turns sour, you should look elsewhere. Either way, the best move is matching the monthly paycheque to your patience.